Decrease in South American migration a sign Panamanian efforts to shut down jungle corridors are working

At least 244,243 migrants have crossed the dangerous Darién Gap jungle, the common border between Panama and Colombia, so far in 2024, according to figures released this Monday by the Panamanian government. These numbers represent a decrease of 110,056 pedestrians compared to the same period last year, marking a drop of 31%.

The National Immigration Service of Panama reported the new figures shortly after closing dangerous Darién passages to quell violent crime, trafficking and address ongoing health concerns.

The information from the Panamanian organization highlights that the “majority of migrants are from Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and China,” without specifying figures.

In the first nine days of September, 6,058 people have passed through that Darién jungle, used daily by hundreds of migrants from South America to reach North America in search of better living conditions.

La Operación Flujo Controlado de Migrantes irregulares, registra desde enero hasta hoy 09 de septiembre de 2024, un tránsito por la selva del Darién de unas 244 mil 243 personas.

La mayoría de los migrantes son originarios de Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia y China. pic.twitter.com/WdXD3eFXSI

— Migración Panamá (@migracionpanama) September 9, 2024

Panamanian authorities estimate that in 2024 some 320,000 migrants will cross this jungle, a reduction of 38% compared to the historical record of 520,000 that crossed last year, and that the reduction would have to do with the new migration control policies implemented by the new president, whose mandate began on July 1.

Last February, after the migratory wave, Panamanian Migration authorities had warned about a possible 20% increase in the flow of transients. To this end, the new Panamanian government has applied several measures to stop the migratory flow through the Darién, considering it a humanitarian crisis, but also a security one.

Among them is the installation of “perimeter barriers” (barbed wire fences) about 4.7 kilometers in Darién, where there were at least five unauthorized crossings or trails, to "channel" the flow of migrants through a "humanitarian corridor."

Other of these measures is the agreement with the United States to finance flights to return migrants to their South American homelands.

So far, four have already been carried out with groups of approximately 30 people to Colombia, with about 3 flights, and Ecuador with one, to which is added another to India with 130 migrants.

"These are very important messages that immigration has to be orderly, safe and legal. And what we are doing is trying to offer legal, safe and orderly routes but at the same time forcing the law," U.S. Ambassador to Panama Mari Carmen Aponte said in statements on Monday to the press about the agreement between both countries.

Some of these migrants have criminal records, according to the Panamanian authorities, while others are returned for entering the country without completing the regular immigration process.